1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to aircraft cargo door shields used to prevent damage to aircraft cargo doors during loading and unloading of cargo.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cargo door of a jet aircraft, such as a Boeing 737, is hinged at the top to the frame of a doorway and when opened is rotated inward and toward the ceiling of the cargo bay, also known as the cargo hold. This positions the exterior skin of the cargo door facing downward toward the floor of the cargo bay. The cargo bay is where luggage and other types of cargo (hereinafter both being referred to as “cargo”) are placed for transport with the aircraft. When cargo is being loaded into or unloaded from the cargo bay, due to the limited height of the cargo bay it is not unusual for the cargo to occasionally contact the exterior skin of the opened cargo door. Such contact can damage the exterior skin of the cargo door.
When the cargo door is closed the exterior skin of the damage cargo door serves as a portion of the exterior skin of the aircraft body. If the damage is more than minor, a repair of the exterior skin of the cargo door is required. A significantly enough damaged exterior skin of the cargo door can impact airworthiness of the aircraft. Such repairs can cause flight delays and be expensive. Of course, even minor damage impacts the appearance of the aircraft.
In the past, foam pads attached to the exterior skin of the cargo door have been used to minimize the damage caused by cargo contacting the cargo door during loading and unloading of cargo. While a significant step toward protection of the cargo door, the pads must be manually attached to the cargo door and removed from the cargo door and stored for their next use. If for some reason a cargo handler does not install the foam pad on the cargo door, there is a danger that damage will result to the cargo door.